CAREC Institute Advances Regional Collaboration to Drive EV Transition in Central Asia

The CAREC Institute’s policy dialogue on March 26, 2025, brought together national policymakers and researchers to address the urgent shift toward electric mobility in the CAREC member countries. Mr. Charymuhammet Shallyyev, Director of the CAREC Institute, welcomed the participants by noting the transport sector’s impact on carbon emissions and called for balanced regional cooperation among governments, industries, and academia to unlock sustainable growth in the CAREC region. Mr. Lu Shiliang, Research Specialist in the CAREC Institute’s Chief Economist Team, presented his research highlighting the existing stark disparities in the CAREC region: while China leads in regional EV exports (130,000 units in 2024) and the deployment of the EV infrastructure, other CAREC countries’ charging infrastructure remains critically inadequate, and with some nations having fewer than 100 public chargers below the accepted global standards. He emphasized standardizing EV definitions and data to support the regional policies.

Mr. Khalil Raza, a visiting fellow of the CAREC Institute, in presenting his research results urged CAREC member countries to adopt tax incentives, subsidies, and Public-Private-Partnership models to scale charging networks and local manufacturing. Citing Pakistan and Mongolia’s high electricity costs, he stressed integrating renewables to maximize EV affordability. Dr. Vladislav Zavadskiy, Senior Research Specialist of the CAREC Institute, presented Kazakhstan’s case, where stable electricity prices make EVs three times cheaper over their lifecycle than fossil-fuel vehicles, advocating for using off-peak (night time) tariffs to boost adoption. Mr. Deng Han, Deputy Chief Technical Officer of Institute for Transportation and Development Policy China, shared Chinese success in deploying green fleet and zero-emission freight corridors. This initiative has significantly reduced CO₂ emissions and increased profitability by over 50% compared to diesel trucks.

In closing, CAREC Institute’s Deputy Director Two Dr. Kuat Akizhanov outlined key policy cooperation areas for the CAREC member countries: prioritizing freight electrification pilots, leveraging mineral resources for battery supply chains, and ensuring equitable access through used EV markets.

“Today’s policy dialogue on electric vehicles and infrastructure deployment is not just about addressing current challenges; it is about building the capacity of our region to adapt and thrive in the face of evolving global dynamics,” stated Director Mr. Shallyyev, reaffirming the Institute’s commitment to knowledge sharing and capacity building aimed at achieving decarbonization milestones.

The video recording and all related materials from the policy dialogue are available on the CAREC Institute’s eLearning platform.